-US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces
Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a massive overhaul of the State Department on Tuesday, with plans to reduce staff in the U.S. by 15% while closing and consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide as part of the Trump administration’s “America First” mandate.
This office has been a major advocate for women and girls worldwide, promoting their political and economic empowerment, women’s leadership, and women, peace and security initiatives. Each year, this office organizes the International Women of Courage award, which Facia Harris received in 2022, the first Liberian to win the coveted honor.
The reorganization plan, announced by Rubio on social media and detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, is the latest effort by the White House to reimagine U.S. foreign policy and scale back the size of the federal government.
“We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources,” Rubio said in a department-wide email obtained by AP. He said the reorganization aimed to “meet the immense challenges of the 21st Century and put America First.”
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce echoed that sentiment, saying the “sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats” but adding that it would not result in the immediate dismissal of personnel. “It’s not something where people are being fired today,” Bruce told reporters Tuesday. “They’re not going to be walking out of the building. It’s not that kind of a dynamic. It is a roadmap. It’s a plan.” It includes consolidating 734 bureaus and offices to 602, as well as transitioning 137 offices to another location within the department to “increase efficiency,” according to a fact sheet obtained by AP.
There will be a “reimagined” office focused on foreign and humanitarian affairs to coordinate the aid programs overseas still left at the State Department. The reorganization was driven in part by the need to find a new home for the remaining functions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, an agency that Trump administration officials and billionaire ally Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have dismantled.
The State Department reorganization plan appears to eliminate an office charged with surging expertise to war zones and other erupting crises and scale back work on human rights and justice.
Although the plan will implement major changes in the department’s bureaucracy and personnel, it is far less drastic than an alleged reorganization plan that was circulated by some officials over the weekend. Numerous senior State Department officials, including Rubio himself, denied that the plan was real. Work that had been believed targeted in that alleged leaked document survived — at least as bureau names on a chart — in the plan that Rubio released Tuesday. That includes offices for Africa affairs, migration and refugee issues, and democracy efforts.
It was not immediately clear whether U.S. embassies were included in the installations slated for closing. Earlier reports of wholesale closings of embassies, especially in Africa, triggered warnings about shrinking the U.S. diplomatic capacity and influence abroad.
SOGWI
The Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues has a mandate to promote the rights and empowerment of women and girls throughout U.S. foreign policy. S/GWI leads the Department’s efforts to include women and girls in U.S. diplomacy, partnerships, and programs, and ensures gender integration.
Since the inception of the International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award in March 2007, the U.S. Department of State has recognized more than 190 women from 90 countries.
Now in its 19th year, the Secretary of State’s IWOC Award recognizes women from around the world who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, and the empowerment of women and girls, and more, often at great personal risk and sacrifice.
Each year, the IWOC awardees are invited to Washington, DC to receive their awards from the Secretary of State and the First Lady of the United States in a high-level ceremony held on or in proximity to International Women’s Day (March 8th). The IWOC awardees conclude their visit to the United States with a dinner hosted by American Women for International Understanding (AWIU) in Los Angeles, California, which provides the awardees with special grants to continue their work at home.
Women
Women and girls make up half the world’s population. Yet far too often, their voices, experiences, and contributions are overlooked or undervalued. They are underrepresented in the halls of political and economic power and overrepresented in poverty, while barriers—from gender-based violence and lack of political and economic opportunities, to laws that hold women to a different standard—block the path to progress.
Inequality and the low status of women and girls have vast political, economic, and social implications. This can limit the ability of communities to resolve conflict, countries to boost their economies, or regions to grow enough food. The untapped potential of women remains a lost opportunity for economic growth and development the world can ill afford. The inclusion of women in peace and security, and conflict prevention and resolution is essential to ensure gains reach all members of society.
The United States has since committed to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls through U.S. foreign policy. The Department of State has identified four key priorities to advance gender equality and the status of women and girls around the world: Women, peace, and security, Women’s economic empowerment, Gender-based violence and Adolescent girls.
